Tag: Recipes

Halloween’s not just about dressing in costume and trading fun-sized Milky Ways with your besties. If you’re wiped from going out over Halloweekend and are aiming for a spooky night in instead of trick-or-treating, check out these easy, pink recipes you can make at home to both delight and fright your guests of “horror.” 😉

Zombie Brain Cupcakes:

Brain cupcakes are SO easy! Simply make your favorite cupcake (any flavor will work perfectly), whip up a pink frosting and apply in a “brain” pattern on top. You’ll need an icing set like this one from Bed Bath & Beyond. Use the picture above from Shutterstock for inspiration.

“Pink Eye” Martinis:

Got an over-21 crowd coming over for a scary movie marathon? If so, pour some “pink eye” martinis. They’re your standard martini recipe (vodka and dry vermouth) but the glass is rimmed in pink sugar. Use a melon baller to scoop out watermelon balls and toss in glass. If you really want to scare your friends, add a fake spider hanging from the rim as well!

Day of the Dead Skull Sugar Cookies:

Skull cookie photo from Pinterest.

If Day of the Dead is more your speed, make some pink skull cookies to munch on in between answering the doorbell to trick-or-treaters. Use any sugar cookie recipe you love, a skull cookie cutter, and different color icings or edible markers to pink-ify a perfect skull. If you’re having friends over for a more interactive occasion, have them each decorate their own and add in various sprinkles, edible glitter, and candy corn.

Monster Rice Krispie Treats:

Picture of monster rice krispie treats from One Little Project.

Follow this recipe from One Little Project for the cutest (and most delicious) monster inspired rice krispie treats! Don’t forget the pink candy melts and edible eyes to make these pinkly perfect. 🙂

Pie-baking, sweater-wearing, blanket-snuggling, steamy mug-sipping, pumpkin picking. Of the many fall activities that make this season the coziest, consuming anything with apples in it is certainly at the top of our list. Be it in pie, cake, tart, cider, or donuts, APPLE is undoubtedly our favorite fruit flavor of the season!

That’s why we developed our own Pinkly Perfect version of Apple Sangria to enjoy on a crisp fall day with friends. If, like us, you look forward all year to a crisp October day spent visiting an orchard, surrounded by vibrant foliage and fellow sweater-clad folks carrying apple-grabbing poles and barrels to overfill with fresh apples until they’re too heavy to carry, we have JUST the treat for you to enjoy using your seasonal bounty.

Go ahead and soak in the warm sun and cool air, bounce around on a hayride, laugh with your gals as you compete in a cider donut-eating contest, and then retire to your cozy living room with our delicious Pink Sangria and a fun game! Whipping up this cocktail is easy as pie (scratch that, it’s MUCH easier than pie), and can be made as a single serving or in a pitcher for a group (multiply recipe by number of people.) While hard cider and fresh apple juice ground this sangria with a tart, crisp taste of Autumn, the infusion of raspberry adds a delicious sweetness that makes this drink unique. And of course, the resulting pink color keeps the Pinkly Perfect girl in us smiling.

Summer may be coming to a close, but long days, heat waves, and Labor Day party invitations (is September really only days away?!) are still in full swing. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered! These sweet, pink treats are perfect for parties, beach days, or an excuse to stay inside where it’s air conditioned. Oh, and there’s something for everyone – dairy-free, no-bake, vegan, and all delicious!

First up: The party planner’s guide to a perfect pink menu. If you’re looking to impress your guests, we highly recommend these no bake pink lemonade cheesecake parfaits (shown below). They look and taste like you’ve spent hours slaving in the kitchen, but really only take 10-15 minutes to put together.

Picture from homemadehooplah.com.

If you like to prep ahead of time, popsicles are perfect! They’re easy to make and take a long time to freeze, which leaves you time to pick out your perfect party outfit in between. Vegan creamy coconut and blood orange pops(shown below) are gorgeous and so simple, while peach melba pops with thyme take a little more work, but are just as stunning.

Picture from forkknifeswoon.com.

Unfortunately, hot weather isn’t always the best popsicle weather. If you’re worried about the mess, opt for a refreshing drink instead – this raspberry lemon iced tea takes no time at all and is the perfect, summery shade of pink!

Nothing says summer like a smoothie, and a Jamba Juice smoothie? Even better! This Aloha Pineapple smoothie tastes just like the real deal, but only uses a few easy ingredients. You might even have them in your fridge already…

If you love to bake, but hate the high calorie count of some of your favorites, try these baked vanilla donuts!Much healthier than your usual donut, but just as yummy and fun to make! Craving cake instead? How about pink velvet? Or, if you’re more of a cookie person (we see you, though we don’t really understand you), these Lofthouse sugar cookie bars (shown below) are as beautiful as they are tasty! And, if you’ve got a few hours to burn, pink cinnamon rolls are the perfect way to treat yo’self after a long day.

Picture from somethingswanky.com

And last, but not least… Unicorn hot chocolate! Because who can say no to whipped cream and sprinkles?!

Yes, that’s right: Unicorn hot chocolate. Originally created by Creme and Sugar cafe in Southern California, unicorn hot chocolate isn’t cold, but it’s just too awesome to leave out! It’s easy to make and fun to eat, and who doesn’t love whipped cream and sprinkles?

Spoon University has an easy, basic recipe here, but you can also find a dairy-free version that uses almond milk instead of regular milk here.

For extra inspiration, check out Love and Olive Oil’s version (shown at the top of this article)! And yes, that unicorn horn is edible – you can thank us later.

Valentine’s Day may be Pinkly Perfect’s favorite non-summer holiday but Easter is a close second! We love everything from the pretty pastel colors to the delicious sweets to little gifts from the Easter bunny.

Last year I made s’mores with pink peeps (see picture below) and I was so inspired to see what other treats I could make with my favorite Easter indulgence.

I landed on Peep Chocolate Bars. I can’t keep secrets, especially when I’m excited, so here’s a picture of them cooling off from the oven. Yum!

How pretty?! Would you believe me if I said they were as easy as they are cute? Because they are.

Make the chocolate cake mix according to directions and while they’re baking, chop up some peeps. Take the cake out of the oven with 5 minutes left to bake and sprinkle the peeps and pretty pink M&Ms over the top.

Take out of the oven when cook time is over and let cool before diving in!

What are some of your favorite variations of the classic Easter treats? Let us know in the comments section!

If you missed it, you basically just need to know that discovering these perfect pastel sprinkles inspired by my absolute favorite place makes baking and indulging in sweets even more enjoyable!

While I am trying to eat healthy (check out these pretty recipes!), there’s no way I can deny myself of baking and celebrating some pretty exciting press with desserts in the company of my best friends.

I decided to try out this recipe for Confetti Cake Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction (I get so many delicious recipes from her blog) and it was so easy (literally 30 minutes start to finish) and the cookies came out perfectly!

Jersey shore sprinkles!

The recipe doesn’t require any mixer so cleanup is a breeze and there’s SO many different ways you can customize it based on your mood. Switch out festive sprinkles for your favorite holiday or cake mixes for a different flavor. Over the weekend I bought pink velvet cake mix and heart sprinkles that I’ll be making for Valentine’s Day in a couple weeks!

Yum!

What recipes are you into this winter? Let us know in the comments section so we can try them out!

No matter the freezing winter temperatures, any summer girl will still get the occasional (read: daily) ice cream craving. While we may not be able to throw on some flip-flops, hop on our beach cruisers, and go to the local ice cream parlor in our beach town of choice, we can make a little trip to the freezer section and indulge in our favorite store bought brands.

At Pinkly Perfect, we totally get the ice cream obsession, which is why we’re here to help. From affordable merchandise to creative blog articles, check out how we’re screaming for ice cream this winter.

Our latest addition to the Madison Bracelet family is Pinkly Perfect’s Ice Cream Cone Bracelet in gold metallic leather and painted mint back. It’s made in the USA, and pairs perfectly with your zip code bracelets for a daily reminder of summer vacation. At $24, it’s also the perfect price for a gift for your ice cream-obsessed bestie.

Patches, patches, patches. We couldn’t go for this trend without incorporating the color pink and our favorite summer sweet! Our Newport Cosmetic Bag in “Reminders of Summer” perfectly sums up why we love this magical treat. Pick it up for $20 and bring it on your next vacation or slumber party.

Sometimes it’s difficult to decide exactly how we’re craving ice cream. In a bowl, covered in rainbow sprinkles (always), in a cone, or our personal favorite—sandwiched between two warm, gooey cookies. Last year, we wrote a blog article on creative spins on the classic ice cream sandwich. Read it here and get inspired for your next homemade treat!

The holidays are almost over and it’s getting to be that time when we begin the dreaded transition from Christmas cookies and lounging around in sweatshirts and leggings to more healthy foods and moving your body again.

If you’re like me, you may have been indulging pretty consistently since Thanksgiving, which is why the switch back to healthy eating will probably be a little bit more difficult than you’re used to (or ready for!). But the good news is the sooner we get back into our old routines, the sooner we’ll be excited about wearing bikinis again! (Only 148 days until Memorial Day 2017. Yay!)

There definitely is no equivalent to sugar cookies decorated like sparkly snowmen or a big mug of hot chocolate with toasted marshmallows but there are some healthy recipes that are also pretty beautiful! Below I decided to highlight some of my favorites that also happen to be pink. (Go figure ;).)

Strawberry Chia Pudding:

Yum yum yum! This strawberry chia pudding recipe sounds as delicious as it is pretty! Chia pudding is one of my favorite anytime snacks because it reads like ice cream (not lying) and I can’t wait to give this one a try. It’s also so good for you because it includes nutritious ingredients like almond milk, strawberries, chia seeds, honey, and vanilla extract. Check out the recipe here.

Pitaya Breakfast Bowl:

This month I’ll happily be trading in my usual Christmas-time breakfast of carbs on carbs on carbs for something a little bit more energizing. I’ve never had a pitaya bowl before, but this recipe that’s basically just fruit and coconut water looks pretty perfect for a pre-workout meal.

Cherry Ice Pops:

The hardest thing for me after the holidays is to train myself to not crave sweets after every meal. If you’re still home before heading back to college in a couple weeks (lucky you!), there’s probably still a lot of holiday temptations lying around that saying no in general could be a bit too challenging. Instead, whip up some cherry ice pops. With only a few simple ingredients like cherries, water, and honey (so easy!), these are a much healthier option than leftover cannoli.

In addition to checking out these recipes, also try some of our favorite exercises that can both help you get back in shape and remind you of summer! Win-win!

It’s official! Pinkly Perfect has caught the holiday baking bug. With just one week until it’s “acceptable” to start listening to Christmas music, we are already planning what recipes we’ll be taking on this holiday season.

And in typical Pinkly Perfect fashion, we’re looking to pink-ify the standard winter treats for something a little more on brand. Below is what we found!

Candy Cane Pink Hot Chocolate

Uhhhm whaaat….we were SO excited to find this recipe for easy candy cane pink hot chocolate from Real Housemoms. What could be better than cozying up with your besties, Netflix (hello, Gilmore Girls), and a hot cup of something pink and chocolate-y covered with whipped cream and candy canes? Nothing.

White Christmas Peppermint Layer Cake

We can’t wait to make this vanilla layer cake with pink peppermint frosting. Perfect for a girls’ night in party or for Christmas Eve with the family. Check out the recipe from Midwest Living here.

Pink Velvet Cookies

What’s the holiday season without Christmas cookies?! Instead of the traditional red velvet cookies, take any recipe and sub pink food coloring for red. Same delicious taste, just prettier. Picture above from Desserts With Benefits.

What other ideas do you have for holiday baking? Let us know in the comments section!

Amy Rothstein is the founder of Dona Chai (pronounced “Donna”), a chai tea concentrate brewing company based in Brooklyn, New York. We sat down with her at a local cafe for–you guessed it–a chai latte and a chat about a college class that changed her life, her mom’s creepy childhood doll, and what it takes to run a company that stocks across the country.

PP: What inspired you to start Dona Chai?

AR: In college I was an environmental studies major and took a class about the ecology, politics, and ethics of food. I didn’t realize that there was more to food than just cooking or eating it, and I was intrigued. I decided I wanted to study food further, and entered a graduate program at NYU for food studies. I went to a lot of coffee shops in my first semester to do homework, and noticed that while there was a strong culture of locally-roasted coffee, there was no parallel focus on locally-blended teas. That’s when the idea for Dona Chai came to me.

PP: What sets Dona Chai apart?

AR: For one thing, the recipe. I spent the summer between my first and second years of graduate school wholly devoted to perfecting the tea recipe. “Chai” is actually a very broad term that simply means tea blended with spices, so there is no set recipe. After three months of experimenting, I settled on a blend of molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, green cardamom, black peppercorns, cloves, and black tea, that I was absolutely confident in. [Editor’s note: the Dona Chai latte I sipped while talking to Amy was hands down the best chai latte I’ve ever had.] The other thing that sets Dona Chai apart is that I am relentlessly critical of the company and product. It sounds negative but the constant evaluation helps me make sure that the product is the absolute best it can be.

PP: What is the hardest part of running a company?

AR: Well, I can tell you what the easiest part of the company was for me–the name! My mom had a creepy childhood doll named Dona who sat in my grandmother’s living room. I wasn’t allowed to play with her; somehow Dona is the first name that came to mind when I was thinking of a name. I know that the story doesn’t make sense to most people, but the name is perfect to me. Another thing that is easy is waking up in the morning. I am eager to get to work! [For more about Amy’s daily life, check out this article about her on Forbes.] Keeping up with the fast pace of a growing company is always an exciting challenge. Thankfully, my brother is on the Dona Chai team. His degree is in business, so his analytical skills complement my skill set. We’ve grown to 6 employees, so I’m not doing everything myself.

PP: How has being a woman affected your business?

AR: I’ve been lucky enough to meet fellow female entrepreneurs. I went to a women’s summit hosted by Forbes called 20/40; it matched up female entrepreneurs in their 20s with those in their 40s for mentorship advice. I’ve learned that the more people you talk to, the better; that’s something I’m working on as the company grows. Women are supportive of each other.

If you can’t resist a good tea photo, the Dona Chai Instagram is your new happy place.

PP: What have you learned about yourself in this process?

AR: I’ve discovered a bunch of new interests. I’m getting more interested in the graphic design, photography, and marketing elements of the business. I’ve also started developing recipes that use Dona Chai–it’s not just for lattes!–so that’s been fun.

PP: Have there been any surprises?

AR: There are always surprises in running a small business. One thing I certainly wasn’t expecting was meeting my boyfriend through work! I walked into his cafe to sell him some chai, and we’ve been dating for two years. We’re both small business owners, so we understand what the other goes through each day.

PP: How will you know when you’ve achieved success?

AR: When I feel like I can go on a vacation and things will be ok in my absence. I’m looking forward to that day!

Admittedly dressing up for Halloween always turns into a bit of a letdown. Even with a fashion background, I can’t seem to pull together the idea that looked so great in my imagination.

One thing that is never a letdown though, is the candy. Instead of getting the classics like M&Ms, Twix, Milky Ways, etc…why not add in some favorites from Jersey owned businesses? Below are some of our recommendations:

Our first suggestion is to mix up the Halloween assortment by adding in Shriver’s Salt Water Taffy. You can conveniently purchase a 2 lb box of individually wrapped taffy online in their traditional assortment, which includes delicious flavors like chocolate, vanilla, banana, peanut butter, and cinnamon. The variety of flavors are sure to please all taste buds while also making the after trick-or-treating trade with the neighborhood kids much more interesting. While you’re at it, pick up some fudge to store in your kitchen whenever you need a reminder of your favorite summer treat.